Currently — June 14th, 2022

July 13, 2022

The weather, currently.

Wildfires blaze across Europe, as record breaking extreme heat impacts several countries in the western part of the continent. The UK, Portugal, Spain, and France have all issued severe heat warnings with temperatures surpassing 40°C (104°F).

Wildfires in Portugal, Spain and France raged on Wednesday as thousands of firefighters work to contain the flames. In Portugal, temperatures hit 46.3°C (115 °F) in Lousã, breaking an all time record. Meanwhile, the country is batting over 30 wildfires, the largest of which has burned over 5,000 acres. The extreme heat will only exacerbate the fire conditions over the next week.

In France over 6,000 people have been evacuated near forested areas outside of Bordeaux. The heat in France is expected to last through the end of this week — this comes after an unusually hot June.

The wildfires, heat, and drought in the region are directly linked to climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels.

—Abbie Veitch

What you need to know, currently.

Our Managing Editor has a new story up on a study that details how social inequality fuels climate change and makes it harder to fight.

“‘Climate instability threatens the loss of social justice and equality gains over the past half-century,’ said Dr. Kelly Davis, a clinical social worker and director of the Institute for Social Work and Ecological Justice. ‘Making it the most significant and universal problem facing social workers.’”

“Research shows that the most marginalized — poor and BIPOC people, for example — already face the brunt of climate-related devastation. Meanwhile, wealthy countries account for almost 40 percent of carbon emissions, while only making up 16 percent of the world’s population.”